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Preparation

Using a hand whisk, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar in the clean bowl of a stand mixer. Place the bowl over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water. The egg white mixture will be gloppy and thick, but as the mixture begins to warm up, it will become more fluid. Continue to gently whisk the mixture until it is very hot to the touch (130°F on a candy thermometer).

Move the bowl to the stand mixer and, using the whisk attachment, whip the whites on medium-high speed until they have tripled in volume and are thick and glossy and hold stiff peaks (like meringue), 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the mixer down to medium-low speed until the mixing bowl is just cool to the touch, 1 to 2 minutes. Kick the mixer back up to medium-high speed and add the butter one piece at a time, adding the next piece just as the previous one has been incorporated. Stop the mixer every so often to scrape down the escaping buttercream from the sides of the bowl. At some point, the buttercream will take on a curdled appearance; don't worry, this is normal. Just keep on mixing until it comes together. Once all the butter is incorporated and the frosting is fluffy and creamy, blend in the vanilla and salt until fully combined.

Covered with plastic wrap, buttercream will last 2 days at room temperature or 7 days in the refrigerator. If refrigerated, the buttercream must be brought to room temperature before you use it. Either way, the buttercream must be rewhipped-either by hand if kept at room temperature or with a mixer if refrigerated-before you frost a cake with it.

Raspberry Buttercream:

Mash and strain 4 cups (10 ounces) of raspberries, fresh or frozen, through a fine mesh sieve to catch the seeds. (If using frozen berries, measure them before thawing.) Discard the seeds and set aside the puree while you follow the method for making Basic Buttercream. Add the berry puree at the end of the recipe, with the vanilla and the salt.

Julie Richardson is the owner and head baker of Baker & Spice, a small-batch bakery and café in Portland, Oregon. She is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, and the coauthor of Rustic Fruit Desserts. Her sweet tooth led her to open her first bakery, Good Earth, in Ketchum, Idaho. Upon moving to Portland, she fell in love with the farms and fruits of the Pacific Northwest and launched Baker & Spice from a stall at the farmers' market in 1999. Julie spends most days baking cakes, croissants, and pies or teaching classes at SweetWares, her retail bakeware shop. When Julie is not baking, she can be found digging in her garden. She lives in Portland with her husband, Matt, and their many four-legged friends.

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Recent Reviews

I made the raspberry version of this buttercream. Yes, it's involved, but the flavor (and aroma) were excellent. My issue is that the buttercream was like thick soup after ages of beating - I assume it was because of all the liquid from the puree. In desperation ended up adding a cup of confectioner's sugar and finally got to a spreading consistency. It goes on beautifully but never set up - the frosting was still soft the next day. Would like to know why, because otherwise I was happy with flavor and appearance. With multi-colored sugars on top it made a beautifully festive birthday cake.

Stringcat3 from Phoenix AZ /

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Came out perfect. I followed the directions exactly as written and am very pleased. I am not a baker, just two special cakes per year for my daughters' birthdays, but this came out perfect. Ideal for decorating due to very light and smooth texture, if you have that skill. Next year I may add food color, but need to do a trial run of this before the actual birthday party cake.

kpfromChicago from Wilmette, IL /

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This was an awesome recipe. I was grateful for the little note in the recipe that said not to be discouraged by the curdled appearance at some point. It takes a while to make, it is heavy and very rich but what a dream to decorate with!!

MadamelaChef from France /

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The raspberry version is AMAZING. I made it as directed with no issues. It took a while to get the egg whites and sugar up to temp, but was otherwise a breeze. Delicious, light, easy to use, very well received, and beautiful!

nmikus from Edmonton, AB /

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This was very disappointing! It took forever to make, and the consistency was not good...